José María Guido

Who was José María Guido?

José María Guido was an interim President of Argentina from 30 March 1962 to 12 October 1963.

Guido was elected to the Argentine Senate for Río Negro Province in 1958, representing the Intransigent Radical Civic Union. He was appointed Provisional President of the Senate and became first in line to the Presidency following the resignation of Vice-President Alejandro Gómez. Following the provincial victory of the newly re-legalised Peronists, the military deposed President Arturo Frondizi but reluctantly allowed Guido to assume the Presidency, with the support of the Supreme Court of Argentina. Guido thus became the only civilian to take power in Argentina by military coup.

Guido directed Congress to annul the 1962 election results and suppressed the Peronist cause again. His presidency was marked by violent confrontations between rival military factions, culminating in the 1963 Argentine Navy Revolt, which Guido's government successfully suppressed. Elections were allowed to take place in 1963 which brought Arturo Umberto Illia to power.